Add bread-making to the list of things one can do thousands of feet in the air on a commercial flight. This impressive feat was done on August 18 on an overseas flight.
Frequent Flour Miles
37-year-old TikToker Maria Baradell booked an American Airlines flight on a Boeing 787 with her family from Chicago O'Hare International Airport to Josep Tarradellas Barcelona–El Prat Airport, finding a clever way to pass the time in the process. Confined to her seat, she was able to make sourdough bread using all the essential ingredients and cookware.
Her TikTok video Link has been viewed over 2.5 million times. Right at the start of the video, she explains that the bread was meant to be a surprise for her sister.
Also available to view on Instagram Link , the one-minute video involved the steps she took to make the bread, including adding water and flour and stretching and folding the dough inside a bowl. A follow-up video reveals the bread had been fermenting for 8 hours overnight while her flight was headed to Spain.
A Venezuelan immigrant, Baradell has her own business called Leaf & Loaf Link where she sells bread-making kits and coaches aspiring chefs in virtual workshops.
When speaking with Newsweek, Baradell recalled how she was able to get all her belongings on the flight:
"TSA inspected my bag in Dallas since I had flour in it (which of course can look suspicious). The flour, salt, and sourdough starter passed the TSA tests. A lot of people are wondering how I got past security with these items, but they are allowed, and a lot of people in the sourdough community travel with their sourdough starters. We like to make bread wherever we go."